Friday, 18 December 2015

Security alert! Boko Haram plans to abduct for ransom, FG warns

The Federal Government on Friday issued a
security alert, warning that Boko Haram terrorists, who had been put on
the run by the military, were planning another sensational abduction of
pupils and foreigners in a desperate effort to raise funds through
ransom in order to meet their needs for food, medical and arms supply.

In a statement issued in Abuja, the
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said the
planned abduction was in line with the terrorists’ new modus operandi of
focusing on soft targets, having being routed from their stronghold and
their capacity to stage spectacular attacks substantially degraded.

He said terrorists have now concentrated
their attacks on soft targets, like motor parks, schools and
entertainment centres as they had been degraded to a level that they are
now incapable of staging spectacular attacks like they used to do.

Mohamed said, “The kidnap of the Chibok
girls in 2014, which attracted global attention to the terrorist group,
is what it is now trying to repeat, hoping it can find vulnerable
targets, especially schools, or a group of foreigners outside the front-line states.

”The plan by Boko Haram is also part of
an overall strategy by the terrorists to seek to negatively impact on
the psyche of the gallant troops who have routed them from their
stronghold and also give the impression that they had not been defeated
by the December 2015 deadline given by this administration to
effectively degrade the insurgency in the North-east.

”This is why we have decided to issue
this alert to enable the authorities of both public primary and
secondary schools in remote locations, particular in the northern
states, to upgrade security arrangements.

“It is also aimed at alerting the
general public, operators of hotels and entertainment centres, motor
parks and similar facilities to also upgrade their security arrangements
for the holidays.”

The minister added, “Smoked out of their
hideouts and badly bruised by our gallant military, the Boko Haram
terrorists are desperate, especially in the face of the depletion of
their food supplies.

“In their desperation, they will not
hesitate to embark on actions they feel can still make them relevant or
enhance their survival. But the military is ready and able to prevent
that.”

He said the Federal Government would
build on the successes recorded by the military, adding that the
military had largely met the deadline to degrade the capability of Boko
Haram.